My Youngest

Is he cute or what? He's a very sweet boy.

Seriously

OK, just when we think things couldn't get any worse for our child they have. We moved to a new school and our oldest is doing great. Our youngest, on the other hand is drowning. He is so far behind he can't keep up with the work in his class. In return the teacher is not willing to help him. She has made it hard for him. I know we were warned about her being a "tough" teacher. This is crazy. On a daily basis she describes a child that we don't have. I just don't get how a teacher can let a child fail with out helping? I mean, who gives her that right to let my child fail? My opinion is that he is struggling and the more she pushes the more he gets withdrawn. We are trying everything to build him up. We spoke with other parents about her and she does this every year. She picks a kid that isn't doing well and she lets them fail. My son went from making A's and B's to D's and F's. We have consequences for when he doesn't bring home his home work. We have been drilling it through his head that he needs to turn in his homework when he enters the classroom. We only want the best for him. He deserves an education just like any other child.

School

The boys started school last week on Wednesday. Our youngest came home in tears asking if he was smart. Apparently their "old" school uses a reward system with cards based on the kids grade pt average. He is only 10 and it totally broke his heart. They handed out said cards in an assembly to all the kids in the school. With each card they get to do more stuff. He got the low card. Kids who got a grade point average of 3.75 to 4.0 got to do more stuff. Like go to lunch early, get homework passes, computer lab pass, library pass, and something else I cannot remember. This school district moved the 5th grade over to the JR. high. Anyway~~~~my husband and I were outraged over this. Basically the school is labeling the kids. Everyday they have to carry around this card and it says what they can and cannot do. It was crazy! So, we spoke with the principal and the superintendent over this deal. They are in agreement that it is a good reward system. That it makes the kids work harder. That is far from the truth.....a lot of the kids don't like it. One kid told me what about the kids who never get a white, red, or black card. What about the kids who don't learn like the rest of use. This was coming from a 11 year old. Here he is concerned about the slower kids. Sigh~~~pretty darn sad to me.

So, we pulled our boys out of that school district and put them in a new one yesterday. What a change that was! My kids came home happy. My youngest was thrilled to have one teacher. He was excited about making new friends. My oldest thought that it was cool that he gets to play softball. YEAH! When I went to go get him for his physical he was out in the field learning how to march for band! How about that!! I am already excited for both of them. Both of their teachers seem super nice!

On the home front: we are starting to strip wallpaper from our home office. Egads! What a mess. It's amazing how many layers of wallpaper there were on our walls. I think 6 or 7. Our home is 104 years old and our walls are plaster and lath. We are just about there. They even wallpapered the ceiling. Once we get that stripped off the ceiling we will be ready to spackle the walls, prime, then paint. then we will do it all over again to the living room. Except in there we are removing paneling. That will be a major job because we are wanting to raise the ceiling again. Whoever lived here before us lowered the ceiling. So, we have a big job ahead of us. Enough for now. I need to look for a job now. I need all the luck I can get.

Sad

I was terribly sad yesterday. I got a call from my mom...D wanted to come home. He is homesick. It's been raining there since Monday. I told him if he wanted to come home anytime he could. So we will be leaving on Sat to go get them. That means that we will have spent almost $400 in gas to drop them off and pick them up. Sigh~~~~~~Damn gas!!!

Anyhow.....I had a nice week with out the boys. It was quite. Except for the dogs. Chevy has been into chewing more things. Lets see this week he has chewed up:

My new book I've been reading
Stuffed Animals
Kitchen hand towels
My bra( WTF!)
Brand new harness for him

We provide him with all sorts of stuff for him to chew on. He has plenty to chew on. We walk him and he plays with Penny. They chase each other around the house and around the yard. I cannot imagine that he does not have enough to do. Pent up energy? Who knows......

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Summer Fun

The boys are so excited about going to Mars Academy this weekend. They are going to have a blast. They get to stay in the dorms at the college. They'll learn cool stuff about Mars. Alex is really thrilled. This is like a dream come true for him. He loves anything that has to do with science. Dakota is excited also....he's never been to a sleep away camp. He'll be fine...I'm sure of it.

The last two weeks of July they will be off to my mom and dad's. They have so much fun there. It hard being away from them for so long but it'll be ok. We need this.....it's good for them and it's good for us. Last year mom and dad planned a Spring day. That is where they went and looked at the natural springs in the towns that are near to them. Dad took them to a water park. I think he even got wet. This year they asked if they could stay weeks instead of one. They love being with my folks. I love it to. It's a chance to get to see them and get to know them. It's so hard because they live so far away. This is a time in the boys life that they will never forget. I love it and I am gld mom and dad can provide this opportunity for them.

Summer

Summer is here and we are in full swing of things. The Fourth of July is just right around the corner. Not sure what we will be doing.... J invited some new friends over to swim and hang out. It'd be nice to meet new people. I need something new in my life. Not quite sure what it is.... new job? New friends? New anything would be nice.

The boys have been having a fantastic time in the pool. The first day we got it up and going all they could say was Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! It was so nice to hear that. I've got terrific kids!

Changes

Haven't posted in a while. It's been totally crazy around our house. I turned in my 2 weeks at work. It needed to be done. I just got tired of the headache there. 2 days before my last day my mom calls to tell me that my grandmother only has 48 hours to live. So, we loaded up and headed to MO. We made it there in time for her to recognize us. She passed away on Sunday morning. The service was on Monday morning and we left for home shortly there after.

J is making a bunch of changes with his work. He has gone into a heating and air franchise. He was gone a week in April for training. That week didn't go well for me. I am not used to him being away. My good friend at work got fired. Then I had some issues at work and at home. On my drive home from work all I could do was cry. That is when I had the Ah ha moment that I need to quit my job.

So, you know what? I am so totally ready to be at home awhile. I'm sure I'll go insane but that's ok. I'd rather be crazy than work there anymore. So, if anybody really reads this....I am looking hard for a job. I am very talented. I can just about anything, I am creative, and I can do a bunch of other stuff. Just ask me and I'll tell ya. LOL

A is going to babysit for his aunt this summer. I hope that goes well. It kind of scares me. One, I cannot believe that he will be 12 and two, that he will be old enough to do that. D will be home with me. They didn't want to play ball this summer. That was fine with me. I'm a big pusher of the sports thing. If they want to they can if they don't that's ok, too. J and I have been thinking about motocross. That is something I think they would enjoy.

Anyway...I am going to try to keep up with this blog thing this summer. Wish me luck!!